White Roof Radio #446

Talk about a lucky night! Gabe was able to join us after his rock star, 1st class trip to Spain. No real reason for him to be there except to drive the new JCW GP and Paceman. You’ve read the reviews on Motoringfile. This is better. Trust me.

Woofcast 446:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

A quick programing note. As you know, we normally record the show on Thursday night. This coming Thursday we will not be recording a show so that we can enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with our friends and family. Here in the states, we have to carb up before we hit Walmart on Friday (seriously, it’s nuts and we need the strength). For our friends in the States, have a great Thanksgiving. To everyone else, happy Thursday! We will return on December 3rd with Woofcast 447.

Written By: DB

les

Great show as always guys. I’m glad to hear that the Paceman drives as good as it looks. Lets hope that a diesel will be offered.

http://www.donburnside.com Don Burnside

Thanks Les!

John

Question about the Paceman: the sleek “spoiler” at the end of the roof looks kind of,like the shape of the end of the roof on the 3rd gen mini spy shots. Any word on if this may allude to the new style?

nick dawson

I have to agree with you about the lettering on the back of the Paceman. The problem with the Paceman is that, having made the car so much more attractive, especially the rear and rear 3/4 view, it now looks like any one of a number of good looking little European hatchbacks, and as such looks anonymous. It has been said that MINI was forced into putting the name across the back, just so that everyone would know what it is. I hope the lettering will be a delete option. I enjoyed the show, but next time I tune in I shall have a couple of beers beforehand to get into the spirit of the thing!

John

In the UK they offer a model designation delete option which removes everything but the MINI logo. However, some dental floss always does the trick too :-)

nick dawson

Thanks for the heads up on the dental floss John, I shall remember that :-)

Bob Hayhurst

That is so interesting. I can’t imagine why that would’nt be an option in the USA market.

Ike

I didn’t love the explanation.. “They dropped weight to then replace weight with other stuff’ – but the specs just aren’t there to prove that they did that. There are the huge brakes in front, great. Why wouldn’t they make the wheels a bit lighter, and find somewhere else to relieve weight? I’m not buying the explanation… Still getting the car though obv :)

http://bridger.us/ Gabriel Bridger

That’s the explanation I was given. I buy it up to a point.

Ike

Didn’t I read somewhere that it’s actually a few lbs heavier? There’s not even auto climate control! Are those wheels and brakes really worth adding all that weight? I don’t think someone really thought it through – and if they did, and it’s just a big marketing thing, it’s going to be very upsetting. I wish you were grilled a little more on the smoke and mirrors thing, and I wish you had grilled Mini a bit more. Did you ask them to take those tires and put them on a stock JCW and drive both, side by side? What’s the laptime for a JCW with those tires? Is the GP faster, being a “track car”?

http://bridger.us/ Gabriel Bridger

It’s technically the same weight.

I asked them about the tires and how much they add to the lap time on the Ring. They do add but it’s not aside as the aero, suspension and brakes apparently.

Ike

Gabe,

This is all a claim – I want to see an official JCW number with the same tires – it’s what they should have done to prove that the Aero, Suspension, and brakes make that much of a difference.

Maybe the stickers are what’s making it quicker…. claims are usually backed up with proof. We don’t have access to grill Mini… We need brave Motoringfile staff to get these answers for us!

Bob Hayhurst

I tend to think that if the given proposition is that the motor is going to stay the same (more or less same HP/ torques as JCW) then the ability to enhance performance is a bit limited. You could cut weight and thereby increase HP to weight ratio. Nope, didn’t happen. Could change suspension to allow flatter handling. Check. Could put massive brakes on a 2700 lb. car to allow it go further into a curve before braking. Check. Could put tires on it that have the tread life of a #2 ticonderoga pencil eraser. Check.

Personally, I’ve got no problem with any of this though a bump in HP would have been welcome. But I do get it. Interior looks super. Thunder gray is subjective, but I like it. A couple buttons/switches/ bells/ whistles not in sight but what the heck. I just wish a Quicksilver exhaust would been standard…

Bob Hayhurst

Oh yeah and not to leave out the aero tech/wind tunnel enhancements..,

Bob Hayhurst

I tend to think that if the given proposition is that the motor is going to stay the same (more or less same HP/ torques as JCW) then the ability to enhance performance is a bit limited. You could cut weight and thereby increase HP to weight ratio. Nope, didn’t happen. Could change suspension to allow flatter handling. Check. Could put massive brakes on a 2700 lb. car to allow it go further into a curve before braking. Check. Could put tires on it that have the tread life of a #2 ticonderoga pencil eraser. Check.

Personally, I’ve got no problem with any of this though a bump in HP would have been welcome. But I do get it. Interior looks super. Thunder gray is subjective, but I like it. A couple buttons/switches/ bells/ whistles not in sight but what the heck. I just wish a Quicksilver exhaust would been standard…

Bob Hayhurst

I tend to think that if the given proposition is that the motor is going to stay the same (more or less same HP/ torques as JCW) then the ability to enhance performance is a bit limited. You could cut weight and thereby increase HP to weight ratio. Nope, didn’t happen. Could change suspension to allow flatter handling. Check. Could put massive brakes on a 2700 lb. car to allow it go further into a curve before braking. Check. Could put tires on it that have the tread life of a #2 ticonderoga pencil eraser. Check.

Personally, I’ve got no problem with any of this though a bump in HP would have been welcome. But I do get it. Interior looks super. Thunder gray is subjective, but I like it. A couple buttons/switches/ bells/ whistles not in sight but what the heck. I just wish a Quicksilver exhaust would been standard…

nick dawson

The Paceman is now available for configuration on the MINI UK website

nick dawson

The bad news is that the Paceman lettering is not a delete option, but that’s good news for the makers of dental floss.

http://bridger.us/ Gabriel Bridger

I recommend fishing line

http://www.nathanielsalzman.com/ Nathaniel Salzman

And follow that up with some GooGone.

minipuma

as weird as it sounds, I would actually like you guys to do an article on how to safely remove that vulgar lettering without damaging the car.. I mean, for me, it’s such an aesthetic nightmare that it could impact my purchasing decision, so I’d like to have a bit more confidence that I can actually fix the problem with some fishing line and GooGone.

http://bridger.us/ Gabriel Bridger

Either MF or WRR can definitely do that. But rest assured it’s easy and doesn’t damage your car.

LH451

I’m really digging the Paceman. Is there a possibility to get the Cooper S version of it with the JCW tuning kit?

Advertise with MotoringFile

If you or your company are interested in advertising on the most influential MINI website in the world, please visit our Advertising section. If you have further questions about becoming a sponsor or would like to see our rate sheet please feel free to contact us directly.